Late 19th and early 20th century French silver pictorial thimbles – a
visual guide.
Beginning at the end of the 19th century a small group of Parisian silversmiths, mainly living
in the 3rd Arrondissment began to produce two part Art Nouveau thimbles with die milled
images of animals, flowers, birds and other historic and interesting events. In order to vary
the thimble size the end of the cylinder was cut of the appropriate amount so that part of the
pattern or image is usually missing from the smaller sized thimbles. The thimbles had waffle
dimpling and the design usually extended upwards into the dimpling. Simple waffle dimpled
tops were soldered to the completed cylinder. Seven thimbles included in the list did have
circular dimpling, however, but were made in the same way (‘Mother and Daughter’, ‘the
Sewing Lesson’, 'Girls spinning', 'Seagull with boat', 'Arches and roses' and the two Royal
Wedding thimbles) and some thimbles with waffle dimpling have circular dimpled tops.
In 2003 Frank (1) described some of these thimbles in a TCI Booklet but it was not until 2012
that Painsonneau (2) wrote what must be and will remain the authoritative work on this
subject. The book ‘Les Prestigieux Dés à coudre Français’ is written in French and so far,
sadly, there has been no English translation. Many of the original thimbles were made in
silver, silver with gold plating and solid gold. The dies used were the same.
In the 1970s Roger Lenain (Orfèvrerie Lenain) re-struck many of the Lorillon/Feau/Levy dies
and marked the re-strikes with his own mark which he had adopted from Lenain et Cie (3).
These re- strikes were sold in both the USA and France. Thimbles for export were marked
with the Lenain mark, the head of Mercury, ‘FRANCE’ and a size number. Some of the 1970s
re-issues were assayed and sold in France and were thus marked with a crab and the maker’s
mark only.
More recently there is some suspicion that some of the thimbles have been re-struck again
(see below).
In the tables below there will be a picture of the thimble, its French name, the translation
and the maker and year of manufacture if known.
1. Fontaine Fable thimbles
Thimble
French name (2)
English name
Le Corbeau et le
Renard
The crow and the
fox
Le Loup et
l’Agneau
The wolf and the
lamb
Maker /
engraver
PL/JL
RL/PL
Sem G
Date
made
1910
and
1970
1910
and
1970
Le Renard et la
Cigogne
The fox and the
stork
AF/ RL
Sem G
Le Loup devenu
Berger
The wolf and
shepherd
AF/RL/PL
Sem G
Le Loup de la
Cigogne
The wolf and the
stork
JL
1900
and
1970
1895
and
1970
1910
and
1970
Le Lièvre et la
Tortue
The hare and the
turtle
PL
1915
and
1970
La Laitière et le
pot à lait
The milkmaid and
the pot of milk
RL
1913
and
1970
Sem G
Les deux
Pigeons*
The two pigeons
AF/RL
Sem G
1900
and
1970
Bertrand et
Raton
Bertrand and
Raton
(Le Singe et le
Chat)
(The monkey and
the cat)
RL/PL
Sem G
1913
and
1970
2. Florian fable thimble
Le Singe qui montre
la lanterne magique
The monkey and
the magic
lantern
JL
1910
and
1970
Le Petite Chaperon
Rouge
Little Red Riding
Hood
JL
1910
3. Perrault story thimbles
Le Chat botté*
Puss in Boots
?
1910
and
1970
Le petit Poucet*
Tom Thumb
?
1910
and
1970
JD
1900
4. Scenes of life
Les Modes
Sewing girls
FC Vernon
Les Glaneuses
The harvesters
PL
1920
F Lasserre
Les Vendangeurs
The wine makers
?
1920
F Lasserre
Deux Fileuses au
Rouet
The spinning girls
JL
F Lasserre
1910
La Marchand de
Fleurs
The flower
merchant
JL
1910
and
1970
Le Miroir
The Mirror (Vain
Beauty)
JL
1910
and
1970
La Jeune fille au
crochet
The young girl
crocheting.
(Golden Hands)
JL
1910
and
1970
Les filles filant
Girls spinning
?
1915
P.Lenoir
Traveaux
d’aiguilles
Needlework
JL
1910
F Lasserre
Ronde Fleurie
Floral round
dance
(La Danse des
Muses)
(The dance of the
Muses)
RL
Sem G
1915
and
1970
Ronde autour
d’un arbre
Dancing round a
tree
JL
1920
F Lasserre
La leçon de
couture
The sewing lesson
JL
1900
La mère et la
fille*
The Mother and
Daughter
?
?
and
1970
5. Birds
Le Héron et l’iris
The Heron and
the Iris
LC
1920
and
1970
Trois oiseaus sur
une branche
Three birds on a
branch
JL
1910
F Lasserre
Le Vol
d’hirondelles
Flight of swallows
PL
1920
and
1970
Mouette avec le
bateau
Seagull with boat
Les Plumes
The Feathers
Deux oiseaus
avec roses
Two birds with
roses
?
1920
LC
1920
?
1910
6. Commemorative thimbles
La Bataille de la
Somme
Battle of the
Somme
JL
1916
F Lasserre
Le dé de
l’armistice 1918
The armistice
thimble
JL
1919
F Lasserre
Jeanne d’Arc
entendant des
voix*
Joan of Arc
listening to voices
(Divine Revelation)
RL
Sem G
1920
and
1970
Jeanne d’Arc
gardant ses
moutons
Joan of Arc
tending her sheep
(Inspired
Shepherdess)
Le dé à coudre
mariage - Reine
Wilhelmina, 1901
The Queen
Wilhelmina
wedding thimble
Le mariage royal
Espagnol
The Spanish Royal
Wedding
RL/JL
Sem G
1920
and
1970
AF
1901
and
1970
?
1906
and
1970
Statue de la
liberté
The Statue of
Liberty
LL
1970
Chrysanthème
avec ruban
Chrysanthemum
with ribbon
JL
1910
Chèvrefeuille
Honeysuckle
RL
1915
7. Flowers
Sem G
Oeillets
Carnations
RL
1913
Sem G
Capucines
Nasturtiums
RL
1913
Platane
Plane tree fruit
JL
1910
Fraisier
Strawberries
JL
1910
Marguerite
Marguerite
LC
1920
Chrysanthème
Pyrethium
JL
1920
Gui
Mistletoe
JL
1910
and ?
1970
Volubilis
Morning glory
JL
1910
Epis de Blé
Ears of wheat
LC
1915
Le Lierre
The Ivy
JL
1910
Marronnier
d’Inde
Horse Chestnut
JL
1910
Roses sauvages
Wild rose bough
JL
1910
and
1970
Les Roses
The Roses
This thimble may
have been made by
Gebrüder Gabler
GmbH, Schorndorf,
Germany, and is
not a French
thimble at all.
?
1910
Gebrüder
Gabler
GmbH
La Pensée
The Pansy
JL
1910
Tulipe
Tulip
LC
1920
and
1970
Les Houx
The Holly
LC
1920
and
?1970
Ecussion de
feuilles
Pattern of leaves
LC
1920
Palme stylisée
Stylised palm
LC
1920
8. Baskets and garlands
Gerbe des roses
Bunch of roses
AF
1900
Gerbe des fleurs
Bunch of flowers
RL
Bouquet de
fleurs
Bouquet of flowers
?
1920
Fleurs liées en
bouquet
Flowers tied in a
bouquet
?
1920
Vasques de
fleurs
Bowles of flowers
LC
1920
Panier de fleurs
Basket of flowers
?
1920
Les guirlandes de
fleurs et feuilles
Garlands of flowers
and leaves
?
1910
Bouquets de
fleurs en
guirlande
Bunches of flowers
in garlands
LC
1920
Arcades de fleurs
et Noeud
Arches of flowers
with knot
JL
1900
Arcades et Roses
Arches and roses
HL
1920
Roses et
géométrie
Geometric roses
HL
1920
Cornes
d’abondance de
roses
Cornucopia of roses
?
1920
Panier de fleurs
avec des
serpents
Basket of flowers
with snakes
?
1920
9. Religious thimbles
Notre Dame de
Lourdes
Our lady of Lourdes
?
1900
Notre Dame de
Lourdes
Our lady of Lourdes
?
1920
Notre Dame de
Lourdes
Our lady of Lourdes
?
1920
La serviteur de
dieu frere Mutien
Marie
The Servant of
God, brother
Mutien Marie
?
1977
Maker’s abbreviations:
AF
HL
JD
JL
JQ
LC
LF
PL
RL
Alfred Féau
Henri Lambin
Julian Duval
J Lévy
Janvier Quercia
Leon Chalin
Roger Lenain
Plumont Lorillon
Rene Lorillon
Dated listed approximate date of manufacture and re-issue.
For more information about French thimble makers and engravers of the late 19th and early
20th century see ‘Late Nineteenth and early twentieth century French silver thimble master’s
marks’ (3).
Not all pictures are from the original issues, those images marked with an * are reissues.
Some of the Roger Lenain re-issues were made with smooth sides instead of waffle dimpling
(Mother and Daughter, Spanish Royal Wedding and Queen Wilhelmina Wedding thimble
).
Recently we noticed a number of ‘re-issues’ which were heavily ‘antiqued’ (below right) in
comparison with the original re-issues on sale on Ebay. It proved very difficult to remove the
‘antiquing’ and we were wondering whether there has been another more recent re-issue
from the old dies? Some of the ‘antiqued’ ones have stars on the top suggesting that a
slightly different die was used for the top dimpling.
The top and side soldering may be less precise in the ‘antiqued re-issues’.
References
1. Frank B. Thimbles of France with waffled knurling. Thimble Collectors International.
USA. 2003.
2. Painsonneau. M. Les Prestigieux Dés à coudre Français. The BookEdition 2012.
www.thebookedition.com.
3. Isbister, Isbister W. Late Nineteenth and early twentieth century French silver thimble
master’s marks. Magdalena and William Isbister, Moosbach, 2007.
We should like to thank Carolyn Meacham, Michel Painsonneau, Bridget McConnel, Irene
Schwall and Rund um den Fingerhut, for permission to use some of their images over the
years.